This invention relates to a snow trap attachment for a crop harvesting machine. Such a harvesting machine can comprise either a conventional swather or a conventional combine harvester where the latter acts to cut and harvest the crop in one operation.
Conventional swathers or other harvesting machines generally include a transverse sickle blade for cutting the crop at a position closely adjacent to the ground so the straw and head drop onto a collection arrangement which can either be for example a draper or an auger screw.
In recent years experiments have been instituted with a view to improving the trapping of snow in the fields during the winter season so as to increase the amount of moisture available in the soil during the growing season. One proposal for trapping the snow has been to provide during harvesting relatively narrow snow trap strips of standing straw while the main portion of the field is cut in normal manner. These standing straw snow traps have been found to be effective in increasing the amount of snow retained on the field so that when the melt comes the moisture is retained in the soil over the field.
The experiments have, however, not reached a stage of commercial usage partly in view of the unavailability of suitable equipment to properly harvest the crop while leaving the standing straw snow trap.
One type of equipment which is available is a deflector which merely distorts or bends the straw as it is cut by the machine so that only the heads are cut off. However this leaves the straw badly damaged and can interfere with harvesting.